No abstract available.
Acidosis, Renal Tubular* ; Captopril*

No abstract available.
Urinary Bladder*

Chemotherapeutic agents were evaluated for their effect on the development of urinary bladder tumors, induced by N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine (BBN) in female Sprague-Dawley rats. For 16 weeks, 0.05% BBN was administered orally, and then chemotherapeutic agents (adriamycin and cisplatin) were injected intraperitoneally for 12 weeks. In our preliminary experimental series, an experimental bladder tumor model induced by BBN was useful in evaluating the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents. Cisplatin appears to be effective in inhibiting precancerous histologic changes and carcinoma in rat urinary bladder mucosa by BBN. However, the effectiveness of adriamycin was inconclusive.
Animals ; Carcinogenesis* ; Cisplatin ; Doxorubicin ; Female ; Humans ; Injections, Intraperitoneal* ; Mucous Membrane ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Urinary Bladder*

Acoustic stimulation test(AST), is currently being used as an alternative tool of nonstress test (NST). However, there are no standard guideline for analysis of AST. Computerized numerical analysis of AST would be helpful for development of diagnostic criteria of AST. Fifty-one normal pre-term pregnancies entered to this study after conventional 20-minutes NST and 10-minutes AST. Acoustic stimulations were performed using Fetal Acoustic Stimulator (Model 146, Corometrics, US). We analyzed the FHR response after acoustic stimulation using our on-line computerized FHR analysis system, HYFM-I & II software. The changes of loss of signal, baseline FHR, variability, number of fetal movements, and number of FHR accelerations were analyzed numerically. The loss of signal was increased about 2 fold(122.61%). The baseline FHR was increased from 144.57bpm to 156.81bpm(8.5%) after acoustic stimulation. Number of fetal movements was increased about 2 fold(from 2.1 to 4.12/10 minutes). FHR variability was also increased from 17.81 bpm to 26.37 bpm. After AST, number of FHR accelaration was increased 55.47%(10sec 10bpm) and 68.42%(15sec 15bpm), respectively. In this study, we acrumulated elemental FHR data using computerized system after AST. These data would be helpful in the accurate analysis of AST and also enable us to develop the objective interpretation system for AST.
Acceleration ; Acoustic Stimulation* ; Acoustics* ; Female ; Fetal Heart* ; Fetal Movement ; Heart Rate, Fetal* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy*

Several therapeutic methods, expectant management, endourology and ESWL can be used in the treatment of ureteral calculi. In a retrospective analysis during a 3-year period, 96 patients showed spontaneous passage of stones. 164 patients treated with endourologic procedures and 168 who underwent ESWL with a Wolf Piezolith 2300 were analysed as to the success rate in stone removal, complication rate, anesthesia and hospitalization. The mean stone size was 5mm in the expectant management group and 6mm in both endourology and ESWL groups. 11mm was the mean size in the surgical group. Complete removal of all stone fragments was achieved in 52.5% of the expectant managed patients. The overall success rate were comparable with modalities which were 94.5% in endourology and 91.4% in ESWL and 100% in ureterolithotomy. The group treated endourologically had a better success rate but no significant difference to ESWL group. On the other hand, the group treated with ESWL had a shorter hospitalization, lower complication rate, no need for anesthesia. These observations showed that in situ ESWL provides a optimal first line therapy for distal ureteral calculi larger than 5mm, while ureteroscopy is better reserved as a salvage procedure should ESWL fail. Expectant management is more efficient for distal ureteral calculi less than 5mm.
Anesthesia ; Hand ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Ureter* ; Ureteral Calculi ; Ureteroscopy ; Wolves

High dose intravenous methyl prednisolone was administered to patients with multiple sclerosis (4), transverse myelitis (6), and arachnoiditis (I). Almost complete remission was noted in 5 cases (4 with transverse myelitis and one with multiple sclerosis) and partial improvement in 3 patients (2 with multiple sclerosis and I with arachnoiditis ) within 3 days after therapy. The benefits of this therapy, however, was not that dramatic when started late after the onset of neurologic deficits.
Arachnoid ; Arachnoiditis ; Humans ; Multiple Sclerosis ; Myelitis, Transverse ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Prednisolone

No abstract available.
Neurofibroma, Plexiform* ; Urinary Bladder*

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study is to compare model performance of machine learning methods with that of a previous study in which a nonlinear mixed effects model was created using NONMEM(R) for the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data for propofol. The secondary objective was to evaluate if a pharmacodynamic model describing the relationship between the dose of propofol and bispectral index (BIS) outperform that describing the relationship between a pharmacokinetic model derived-predicted concentrations of propofol and BIS. METHODS: Data were collected during a study involving the infusion of propofol into healthy volunteers. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic models were constructed using artificial neural networks (ANNs), support vector machines (SVMs), and multi-method ensembles and were compared with the nonlinear mixed effects method as implemented by NONMEM(R). Model performance was assessed by goodness-of-fit statistics, paired t-tests between predicted and observed values for each model and scatterplots. RESULTS: In pharmacokinetic analysis, ensemble I, the mean of ANN and NONMEM(R) predictions, achieved minimal error and the highest correlation coefficient. SVM produced the highest error and the lowest correlation coefficient. In pharmacodynamic analysis, ANN exhibited the best performance. An ANNModel describing the relationship between the dose of propofol and BIS was not inferior to an ANN model describing the relationship between predicted concentrations of propofol derived from an ANN pharmacokinetic model and BIS. CONCLUSIONS: In pharmacokinetic analysis, ensemble combined with ANN achieved slightly better performance than NONMEM(R). The relationship between the dose of propofol and BIS can be predicted without considering pharmacokinetics of propofol.
Machine Learning ; Propofol ; Support Vector Machine

BACKGROUND: Melanocytes grown in pure monolayer culure lack many of the cellular interactions that exist in vivo. This can be partially overcome by growing melanocytes together with other epidermal cells in skin equivalent models. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to grow human melanocytes in human epidermis reconstructed on dermal substrates in vitro and to examine their response to UV radiation. METHODS: The skin equivalents were prepared by seeding cultured human keratinocytes together with cultured human melanocytes(in a ratio of 5%) onto de-epidermized dermis. After 7 days of culture, they were exposed to UVB irradiation(total 150m J/cm over 5days). On day 12 of air exposure the sections of the skin equivalents were prepared for histology. The structure of the skin equivalents was studied following staining with hematoxylin and eosin. Melanocytes were characterized by DOPA staining and by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Melanocytes were localized singly within the basal layer of the reconstructs. Melanin was also visible both in the melanocytes and in neighboring keratinocytes. There was an increase in melanocyte size and dendricity following UV irradiation. Melanocytes became positive to staining with HMB-45 antibody following UV irradiation. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that melanocytes grown in reconstructed human epidermis are functional and capable of responding to UV irradiation.
Dermis ; Dihydroxyphenylalanine ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Epidermis* ; Hematoxylin ; Humans* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Keratinocytes ; Melanins ; Melanocytes* ; Skin

Urodynamics is a neurourolgic diagnostic tool concerned with identification and measurement of physiologic and pathologic factors involved in the storage, transportation, and evacuation of urine. It plays an important role in the diagnosis, management of neurogenic bladder and its use has gradually increased. But a disparity between clinical and urodynamic findings is commonly found and its application to the clinical management of neurogenic bladder is practically as well embarrassing as its reading. We analyzed the results of 81 cases of neurogenic bladder with urodynamic study. Urodynamically, there were 18 cases showing D. hyperreflexia with DSD, 10 cases D. Hyperreflexia without DSD, 36 cases D. areflexia without low compliance, and 17 case D. areflexia with low compliance. A disparity between the clinical and urodynamic :assessment was noted in 28 cases( 35%). Clinically severe symptom with complication was particularly common in D. hyperreflexia with DSD, D. areflexia with low compliance and catheter indwelling patients.
Catheters ; Compliance ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Reflex, Abnormal ; Transportation ; Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic* ; Urodynamics